Forbes has named Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson, State Bank of India, in its annual 100 ‘Most Powerful Women’ list. Moving up six spots since last year, Ms Bhattacharya has been ranked 30th in the coveted list.
Bhattacharya oversees 2,20,000 staff members in 16,000 branches and services 225 million customers at the country's largest lender (assets USD 400 billion) with offices spread over 36 countries.
Under her leadership, State Bank of India undertook various initiatives in technology banking such as sbiINTOUCH digital banking outlet, SBI Tech Learning Centres for educating customers, SBI e-Pay a payment aggregator service to mention a few.
Bhattacharya also recognized multiple roles of women and hence pioneered a two-year sabbatical policy for female employees taking maternity leave to extend care to their families.
The Forbes's 12th annual list of the 100 most influential women feature extraordinary entrepreneurs, visionary CEOs, politicians, celebrities, activists and philanthropists who are transforming the world and have been ranked by wealth, media presence and overall impact.